Wixercise: Brush up on Your Social Media Posting Skills

Posting on social media is something many people do daily without a second thought. But when it comes to writing social media posts for a brand or business, it’s an entirely different skill set. Below are three exercises to improve your social media writing by using keywords, writing for different audiences and coming up with tweets.

These are quick ways to spark your creativity and get your mind in a productive place. I’ll offer some example companies, but feel free to use the actual company you write for — or an example of your own. This is to help you, so there’s no pressure to complete all three. Just do the ones that apply to you. They don’t have to be perfect; let yourself be creative and have some fun.

01. Using keywords in posts

You can help potential new followers find you on social media by using keywords in your posts. The challenge is to include them in a conversational way. Readers can tell when keywords are forced into text, especially on social media where the language is generally more casual. For this exercise, I’ve given you three sample businesses and a list of keywords to include. For each business, write a post for Facebook, a tweet, and an Instagram caption.

Feel free to write more than one for each. This is about getting your juices flowing and jump-starting your creativity.

Business 1: Online Marketing Firm

Millennial Marketing is a social media marketing startup that targets small businesses in Denver, CO. Write a post to accompany an article about Facebook and Twitter analytics.

Facebook keywords:

Millennial Marketing

Social Media

Facebook Analytics

Denver

Twitter and Instagram keywords:

@MillennialMarketing

#SocialMedia

#Analytics

#Denver

Business 2: Fiction Author

Katie Smith is a new author who just published her first novel, Laptop Love, a romance between a free-wheeling magazine editor and a buttoned-up IT person. Her target audience is 30 to 60-year-old women. She’s going on a book tour soon, so these posts should be focused on her upcoming reading in Seattle.

Facebook keywords:

Laptop Love

Seattle

Katie Smith

Free Reading

Twitter and Instagram keywords:

#Seattle

#FreeReading

@KatieSmith

#LaptopLove

Business 3: Yoga Studio

Yin and Yoga is a small chain of yoga studios in California. They offer group classes, private lessons, and they sell merch. The clientele is 20 to 40-year-olds in Los Angeles and San Diego. Write a post for a flash sale they’re having on group classes.

Facebook keywords:

Yin and Yoga Studio

Yoga Classes

Discount

Exercise

Twitter and Instagram keywords:

@YinandYoga

#YogaClasses

#Discount

#Exercise

Facebook keywords:

Millennial Marketing

Social Media

Facebook Analytics

Denver

02. Writing for different audiences

A social media post is the beginning of a conversation with your audience, so it’s important to speak in a way that feels familiar and welcoming to them. For this exercise, use one of the Facebook posts you wrote in the first exercise, or use one of your own. Then, change the language to make it suitable for other audiences.

Try to think of a persona — an example person in your audience — and write just for them. A working parent, for example, could be Pam from Idaho. Think of what is important to her, such as time management, cutting expenses or spending evenings with her family. Then, keep Pam in mind as you craft a post. Get the idea?

Try these:

Recent College Graduates

Small Business Owners

People in Urban Areas

People in Rural Areas

Retirees

Working Parents

03. Twitter prompts

It can be hard to think of something that’s brief but impactful to tweet out. You want to keep up with your content calendar, but avoid sharing useless fluff. The following are prompts to help overcome a “tweeter’s block.”

Share your best productivity tips.

Create a poll.

Ask followers a question.

Share a fact about your industry.

Crack a joke, share a funny image or meme.

Answer the question, “What’s inspiring me right now?”

Compile a list of hashtags you want to use and write tweets for each.

Regardless of whether or not you end up posting this content, these exercises will help you flex your social media writing muscles, and hopefully provide some #postspiration.

Share your work!

Show us what came up with by posting your work with the hashtags #Wixercises and #WixContent